4.

Manufacturing screws and nuts

4.1 Manufacturing processes
In principle, the following manufacturing processes are
differentiated:
On the one hand there is forming without cutting and on
the other, machining. With forming without cutting there is
a further differentiation between cold and hot forming.
The following diagram is intended to make the production
processes clearer:

(wire). Screw manufacturers usually receive the wire

coiled on rolls that often weigh over 1000 kg.
The wire is normally phosphate treated to enable the wire
to be worked perfectly and to minimise tool wear.
The designer of a screw or a fastener tries during development to harmonise the advantages and disadvantages
of the different materials with the requirements specified
for the fastener. With the materials differences are made,
along with corrosion-resistant steels, between unalloyed
and alloyed steels. For example, if increased strengths are
required, it is absolutely essential to subject the parts after
pressing to a heat treatment process in order to be able to
influence the mechanical properties specifically.
Diagram of the stages for a hexagon
headscrew

Fig. N: O
 verview of the various production processes
4.1.1 Cold forming (cold extrusion)
In modern fastening technology the majority of fasteners are made using the cold forming procedure. In this
procedure, the fastener is formed, usually in multistage
processes, by pressure forging, cold extrusion and reducing, or a combination of these procedures. The term solid
or cold forming was coined for this type of production.
This procedure is usually used for large quantities,
because, from an economic aspect, it is the most rational
method.

Wire Descaling Intermediate

section
upsetting

Finishing

Calibrating Round die

thread rolling

Nuts are usually produced with the cold or hot forming

procedure as well. The choice of one or the other procedure depends on the one hand on the size and on the
other on the required quantities.

The choice of the suitable forming machine depends on

the size of the fastener and on the degree of forming. The
greater the degree of forming, the more forming stages
are required. Sharp-edged transitions or thin profiles are
unfavourable for cold forming and lead to increased tool
wear.
A decisive role for the quality of the final product is
played by the choice and the quality of the input material

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Diagram of the stages for a hexagonal nut

Advantages of cold forming:

Optimal use of material
Very high output
High dimensional accuracy and surface quality
Increase of strength properties through strain hardening
Run of the chamfers in press parts in accordance with
the load
4.1.2 Hot forming
This production method is used mainly to manufacture
large diameters starting with approx. M27, and longer
pieces starting from approx. 300 mm. In addition, parts
are possible that cannot be produced using cold forming
because of the very small volumes, or because of a very
high degree of forming.
With this procedure, the input material (usually bars) is
heated wholly or partially to forging temperature. This
heating up enables even complicated geometries or very
high degrees of forming to be realised. A typical feature
for a hot-formed component is the raw surface structure.
Strain hardening is not carried out during hot forming!
Advantages of hot forming:
Enables production of complicated geometries
Low production runs
Large diameters and lengths
4.1.3 Machining
Machining is usually understood as processing steps such
as turning, milling, grinding or reaming. The most common
method with regard to fasteners is turning, but this has
lost a great deal of importance because of the technical
possibilities of cold pressing.

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During turning, the required contour of the component

is cut from the input material using a turning tool. The
diameter of the input material depends on the largest
diameter of the component. Usually, bars with a length of
up to 6 m are used. In contrast to cold or hot forming, the
chamfer course of the input material is destroyed.
This production procedure is used either if the production
run is not very large or if the part geometry cannot be
complied with in cold or hot forming procedures because
of sharp edges, small radiuses or even nominal sizes.
Surface roughnesses of Ra 0.4 or Rz 1.7 can be achieved
with this production procedure without any problems. In
the case of large production runs the blanks are often
produced with the cold extrusion method and are then
machined.
4.2 Thread production
Where screws are mass-produced, the thread is usually
formed or rolled. In this procedure, the screw is rolled
between two rolling dies (flat dies), one of which is fixed
and the other running, and this creates the thread (see the
diagram). With this type of thread production it is possible
to fit several hundred screws per minute with a thread.
The thread is usually applied before hardening and
tempering. If special requirements mean that the thread
is applied after the heat treatment process, the thread is
referred to as finally rolled.

Fixed die

External
diameter
of the thread
Thread cutting on an automatic lathe with a taper tap
Running die

4.2.1 Fibre pattern

The two diagrams show very clearly the differences
between a rolled and a cut thread. With thread forming
the material is work hardened again in addition, and the
fibre pattern is not interrupted. In this case, the original
diameter of the screw is approximately the same as the
flank diameter. With thread cutting, the original diameter
of the screw is the same as the nominal diameter of the
thread. The fibre pattern is interrupted by the cutting.
Chamfer course on
thread cutting

Chamfer course on
thread forming

Other methods for making threads:

Plunge cutting
Tool rolls that are driven at the same speed rotate in the
same direction. The workpiece rotates without being axially displaced. This method can be used to make threads
with very high pitch accuracy.
Continuous method
The thread pitch is generated by inclining the roller axes
by the pitch angle. The workpiece is given an axial thrust
and moves by one thread pitch in an axial direction, with
a full rotation. Overlength threads can be made in this
way.
Thread cutting
In this procedure the thread is made by means of a tap
or a screw stock. With screws, this procedure is mainly
used for very low production runs or with machined parts
as well.
However, things are different when a female thread is
made. In this case the thread is usually cut with a screw
tap or taper tap.

4.3 Heat treatment

4.3.1 Hardening and tempering
The combination hardening and subsequent
tempering is referred to as hardening and tempering.
DIN EN ISO 898 Part 1 prescribes hardening and
tempering for screws from strength class 8.8, and
DINEN20898 Part 2 prescribes it for nuts in strength
class 05 and 8 (>M16), and from strength class 10.
4.3.2 Hardening
The screw is heated to a specific temperature among
other things in dependence on its carbon content and kept
at this temperature for a long period. This changes the
microstructure. A great increase in hardness is achieved
through the subsequent quenching (water, oil, etc.).

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4.3.3 Annealing
The glass-hard and therefore brittle material cannot be
used in practice in this condition. The material must be
heated up again to a minimum temperature specified
in the standard, in order to reduce the distortions in the
microstructure. It is true that this measure reduces the hardness that was reached beforehand (but this is much higher
than the values of the untreated material), but greater
ductility is achieved. This procedure is an important aid for
manufacturers to make screws that satisfy the requirements
demanded by users.
4.3.4 Case hardening
This procedure is used among other things for tapping
screws, thread grooving and self-drilling screws. In this
case, very hard surfaces are decisive, so that these screws
are able to make their own thread automatically. The
screw core, in contrast, is soft.
Steels with a carbon content of 0.05% to 0.2% are used
for these types of screws. The steels are heated and kept
for a long time in an atmosphere that gives off carbon
(e.g. methane). The carbon diffuses into the surface zones
and in this way increases the local carbon content. This
process is known as carburisation. Finally, the material is
quenched and in this way hardened in the surface zones.
This has the advantage that the surface is very hard, but
sufficient ductility remains in the core of the screw.
4.3.5 Stress relief annealing
There are a number of different annealing procedures
which have different effects in each case on the microstructure and the states of stresses in the material. One
very important procedure in the context of fasteners is
stress relief annealing (heating to approx. 600C and
maintaining this temperature for a long period). The strain
hardening created on cold forming can be reversed by
stress relief annealing. This is particularly important for
screws in strength classes 4.6 and 5.6, because here
there has to be a large elongation of the screw.

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4.3.6 Tempering
Tempering is the thermal treatment of high strength components (strengths 1000 MPa or hardnesses 320 HV)
with the aim of minimising the risk of hydrogen embrittlement. Tempering must be carried out at the latest 4 hours
after the conclusion of the galvanic surface treatment. The
minimum temperature depends on the strength classes or
on the materials that are used.